Mike Farrar will stand down as chief executive of the NHS Confederation this month and launch a new career in healthcare consultancy.
Dean Royles will take on his responsibilities at the head of the representative body for NHS commissioners and providers while a successor is recruited.
Mr Farrar has been a strong voice defending GPs over claims that they were to blame for the crisis in A&E departments. He recently released a report debunking the ‘myth’ that primary care provision and access to out-of-hours services are the biggest causes of pressure on the A&E system.
A statement from NHS Employers said that Mr Farrar had decided to move on from the NHS and launch a new career in healthcare consultancy and would not be applying for the chief executive position of NHS England.
Michael O’Higgins, chair the NHS Confederation said: ‘Mike Farrar has reinforced the NHS Confederation as the voice of the NHS. His NHS career marks him out as one of the leading public servants of his generation.
‘We are sorry to lose him as Chief Executive of the Confederation, but very pleased he will continue to oversee some of our most important work.’
Mr Farrar said: ‘It has been an enormous privilege to work in the NHS for more than two decades. The real sense of career satisfaction is to have been able to shape and see real improvements in patient care, delivered according to need and never ability to pay.’
